I'm Not Here - Let's not forget this interesting take on Dylan

There is a lot of energy and talk now around the Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown
at the moment. It is not going to get to New Zealand for another week or so but Dylan himself has endorsed it.  It comes with a new soundtrack that is basically the actors singing the songs in copies of Dylan’s originals.  I am looking forward to seeing the movie but the sound track does not interest me. 

This is not the first Dylan biopic.  In 2007 Todd Haynes wrote and directed I’m Not There.  This is what, in my opinion anyway, is a great and very Dylanesque take on Dylan’s life.  He is presented in different guises by different actors to represent different stages in his career.   The choice of actors is interesting, and the soundtrack reflects both the quirky nature of the movie and the man himself. 

What I like about the soundtrack is that it is a mix of fairly straight covers to some really interesting takes by a variety of artists some of whom you might not normally expect to associate with Dylan.  It is also where you can find some of the last, at least to now, available recordings of Tom Verlaine’s fluid guitar work.  His Cold Irons Bound is worth the price of admission alone.   Other highlights include Antony and The Johnsons’  Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, The Hold Steady’s Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?, Cat Power’s Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again and Willie Nelson and Calexico’s Senor (Tales of Yankee Power).

However, in truth, every time I play the album a different track impresses me. 

 

 

Favourites - Grant Haua - Awa Blues - Judging a record by its cover

I liked the look of Awa Blues when I saw it in the NZ section at Slowboat Records in Wellington.  I had never heard of Grant Haua but it looked like something worth checking out.  I did a little research, checked out a couple of tunes on Spotify and decided that it was worth buying.   So $50 later and a short work home I was listening to it in full.  

Awa Blues is his first solo album.  Prior to that he was in what has been described as a Power Blues duo (Black Keys anybody) Swamp Thing.  

Not long after we caught him doing a live acoustic show and was impressed by the strength of his presence and show.  Unfortunately it was poorly attended with less than 30 people.  I  have therefore recommended to friends whereever he plays that they should catch him play and so far all have reported being very impressed. It is a pity that he seems to be better recognisd in Europe than he does in his homeland with good reviews, particuilarly in France and he records on a European label. 

The music is a mix of John Hiatt, Taj Mahal influenced acoustic country and Maori blues.  Grant's songwriting is strong throughout with some really great songs. 

When he plays Tough Love Mumma live he tells the great story of getting all his Aunts together, paying them with wine and the fun they had recording the video.  You can certainly see the fun, and love, in the video.  This is the Place portrays well the importance of land or whenua to Maori.  

New Addition - Perry Keyes , Black and White Town

 Perry Keyes has been described as “Redfern’s (Sydney) answer to Bruce Springsteen”.  I get that but while his lyrics reflect some of early Springsteen – think Meeting Across the River, and Backstreets in particular, the content is generally darker and reminds me more of Lou Reed.  His music also tends to be more pub rock than cinematic (but that is probably more a budget issue). 

My introduction to Keyes was 10 years ago now when I picked up his excellent Sunnyholt album.  Check out Home is where the Heart Disease is and the title track from that album.  That lead me to explore his back catalogue and stay tuned for new releases. 

In late 2023 I was notified he was releasing a new album, Black and White Town, and it would be his first available on vinyl.  It is another solid outing and as good a place as any to start.  Worth checking out Streets of a Black and White Town and Last Night in Redfern Park as tasters.

 

2020 A Shit year with Great Music - My Favourite New Music of The Year

 While so much of 2020 has been shit for so many, in my assessment it has been a great year for new music.  A lot of my listening has been focussed on expanding my knowledge and appreciation of Hard Bop and the likes of Art Blakey, Lee Morgan and of course Miles.   However, I have still overspent, again, on new music. 

After almost 40 years of obsessive listening and understanding that there is no such a thing as a “best of” list in terms of music – as it is all just personal taste, I do like to reflect on what have been my favourite new records each year.

Once again this year’s list is topped by a magnificent local release.  Last year the honour went to Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders Word Gets Around (I mention that again because it is just so good, deserves a mention and was one of my most played records this year as well).

This year the honour went to Reb Fountain’s self-titled masterpiece.  I bought a new New Zealand made turntable this year (a Wand 14-4).  I played it to the Simon, the man behind the Wand and he has since been using at his go to demo record when promoting his turntable and arm.

Early in lockdown I was blown away by two other releases that seemed to sum up or reflect the times so well.  Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters and Lucinda Williams’  Good Souls Better Angels.  Both are career highlights in catalogues already filled with highlights.  

Shit Lucinda is angry!!! 

 

 

There were a few other great examples of American anger and desperation or frustration at their current divided states.  If a single song summed up those sentiments it would be Jim White’s Divided States of America off his more aggressive than usual Misfit’s Jubilee.  Jason Isbell and The Drive-By Truckers (who released two) released great records this year (although I am still waiting for the vinyl of their latest).  Chuck Prophet’s Get off the Stage from his Land that Time Forgot album was another example of venting frustration at the White House.  However, the angriest and most thoughtful of these was probably American Aquarium’s Lamentations.  An album that really takes a personal view on the combination of what it means to be southern and to have faith in the ability to rebuild. 

Over the last ten years I have listened to a lot of what many call Desert Blues.  Most of it comes from Mali and was represented first in my collection by Tinariwen.  At the time they were considered quite revolutionary blending western style with traditional approach.  That has now been taken further by the likes of Bombino, Songhoy Blues and Tamikrest.  The latter two released a couple of great albums in 2020 with Optimisme and Tamotait. 

Optimisme mixes not just blues but some healthy doses of Heavy Metal as well – really fun stuff as the cover indicates. Check out the opener Badala.

 

Who would predict that I would include a Taylor Swift album in a favourites list?   – have been paying more attention to her since Ryan Adams covered her excellent 1989 album.  I have always been a fan of great pop and it is good when a pop artist shows that they can not only do great pop but also show the breadth of their skills.  Her two “lockdown albums” are both worth checking out but my favourite now is still Folklore.

 

For anyone who still misses The Go-Betweens, you should checkout Melbourne’s Rolling Blackouts CF.  Their second album, Sideways to New Italy is an excellent sunny album that deserves repeat listens.  

 

 

 

 

 

When it comes to soul music I generally err towards the traditional country soul of Memphis and Northern Alabama. Two new soul albums that I have enjoyed a lot this year have been Lianne La Havas self-titled album.  I bought this in the middle year and thrashed it for a while (especially the opener Bittersweet) and had forgotten about it until I started to compile this list.  I sense a new period of thrashing coming.  

I am never sure where to classify Thundercat – at times soul, sometimes Jazz and the occasional collaboration with hip-hop artists. 

At any rate It Is What It Is is of course what it is! Which is of course fantastic!

 

In terms of the more traditional soul Markus King left his band behind him to make El Dorado a more laid-back solo album.  It took a while for the quality of the album to shine – but isn’t that the way with
the best music. 

I was surprised to see that Dan Penn, one of my favourite soul songwriters from the 60s was releasing another solo album at the tender age of 79.  While lacking any new standards Living on Mercy is a great addition to his canon.  And then Moments from This Theatre also got a first vinyl release. 

While Reb for me led the local music this year there were a lot of other excellent local releases.  The Beths released their second effort Jump Rope Gazers.  Like a lot of bands this year they were not able to do any more than a local support tour for it. 

I wonder how things may have been different if they had been able to capitalise on their growing base in North America.  I bought Dick Move’s excellent power punk album Chop on the strength of its cover alone (best cover of the year no doubt). 

 

 

 

However the band and album I was really taken with was Ingrid and the Ministers and their gentle, Dunedin sounding, Kill the Sights.  We currently seem to have an almost endless stream of talent coming through in New Zealand.  We all need to get out and support it to keep it going!

Honourable mentions must also go to the ever-consistent Darrell Watson and Tami Neilson.

 

 

The last few years has seen a wealth of great music made by women across all spectrums.  When I was growing up I had bugger all music by what we called female singers then.  This year about three quarters of the of the music that has made the most impact on me has been written by women.   Last year most best-of lists were dominated by women.  I did not connect with a lot of that, there was an ethereal quality to leaves me cold.   This year was different. I seemed to be all in.  Whether it was the “indie folk” of Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher or Waxahatche’s St Cloud.  Both to me were major steps up from their earlier work and played often.

Then there was cluster of great more traditional country music by The Highwomen, Margo Price, Brandy Clarke and Shelby Lynne, all absolutely worth checking out. 

On any given day I could easily have added a few others to the list so honourable mentions also go out to Matt Berninger – Serpentine Prison,  Milly Tabak & The Miltones – Honest Woman, Emma Swift – Blonde on the Tracks,  Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways and Larkin Poe – Self Made Man.

 

Favourites : The Cash Brothers - How Was Tomorrow - A rare "complete" album

Like a lot of my music in the 90's and 00's I was introduced to The Cash Brothers through an Uncut Sampler CD.  Nebraska was the track in question a homage to Springsteen's Nebraska album and the way some of us look to dark music when we are feeling dark ourselves. 

Apparently the brothers were reasonably popular individually in their home country of Canada and this album was their first joint effort. 

It's a lovely gentle album of brotherly harmonies possibly best exemplified on The Only One.

Nightshift Guru captures the ennui of working alone late at night in a supermarket. 

It is hard to pick individual tracks on what is a relatively rare thing - a complete album.

To date this is only available on CD but I would love to have it on vinyl. 

Old favourites - Lambchop - What another man spills

Sometimes genre classification can be confusing.  Because Lambchop, a large ensemble centering around Kurt Wagner come from Nashville and feature steel guitar they were immediately dubbed Alt Country.  However they regularly also had brass driving the music, in a laid back sot of way.    In that they must be one of the most alternative of alt country bands. 

I first heard them on compilation albums like Songs of the New West that I wrote about here.  And then I started with this album - What Another Man Spills.

This is an album that I don't play that often but when I do I always ask myself why not.  It has a great coherent feel even though it has such a wide style of music on it - but all given a nice gentle "lambchop feel".

Whether covering some unheralded soul classics like Curtis Mayfield's Give Me Your Love or Frederick Night's I've Been Lonely for So Long.  Even the closer, the instantly recognisable Theme From The Neil Miller Show (I have no idea what that show was but somehow knew the music immediately). 

While the covers are great there are also some classic originals as well like The Saturday Option, Shucks and The Magnificent Obsession.

They hit even more critical success with their follow up Nixon but thus is the album I return to. 

Damn Right I've Got the Blues : Kingfish

One of the highlights of my trip through the lower US in 2014 was the three days we spent in and around Clarksdale Mississippi.  I wrote about that earlier here. 

Something about that area keeps producing great blues music and the latest is Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.   He is a 21 year old blues prodigy whose grandmother swears he has so much soul that he must have "Been Here Before" .

I was introduced to him by a friend one night when we were surfing youtube for interesting new music.  I will admit that I was initially that taken with what I heard but I rechecked him again a week or two later and started to appreciate what he was doing

His kind of self titled debut Kingfish came out last year to almost universal rave reviews.  It reminds me a lot of Keb'Mos debut but with a little (lot) more grit.


Rather than just post songs from the album itself I thought I would post some of the better Youtube clips.  Here he is doing Screamin' Jay Hawkins' - I put a spell on you and Catfish Blues/Hey Joe

In the end you end up that you can just Believe These Blues